Cemeteries

Arlington National Cemetery:

Arlington National Cemetery was established by Brig. General Montgomery C. Meigs during the civil war when he appropriated the ground around the former home of Southern General Robert E. Lee, known then as Arlington House, for use as a military cemetery on June 15, 1864.

From the first interment of Pvt. William Henry Christman of the 67th Pennsylvania Infantry, to the 1,800 remains of the casualties of the Battle of Bull Run, to the 1,500 United States Colored Troops (the first Black combat soldiers of the Civil War), to various medal of honor winners, Presidents, U.S. Supreme Court Justices, 5-star generals, astronauts, Honorary War Veterans, and the over 5,000 unknown soldiers interred there, members of the armed services and, in some cases, their unmarried widows or children, are buried at this site.

Any active duty member of the Armed Forces, any veteran who is retired from active military service with the Armed Forces, and any veteran who has received any one of a number of distinguished medals for service can be buried at the National Cemetery. To further check the eligibility requirements for ground burials, visit the cemetery’s funeral information site at www.arlingtoncemetery.org/funeral_information/index.html.

To learn more about Arlington National Cemetery in general, or to locate the gravesite of a veteran who is interred there, visit their website at http://www.arlingtoncemetery.org/.

National Cemeteries:

The Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA) national cemetery directors have the primary responsibility for verifying eligibility for burial in VA national cemeteries. A determination of eligibility is usually made in response to a request for burial in a VA national cemetery. To check the requirements for persons who are eligible, and who are not eligible, for burial in a VA national cemetery, check the Veteran’s Administration website at http://www.cem.va.gov/cem/cems_nmc.asp.